Hours into the search for his husky Luna, Joshi and his friends hiked through dense woods, calling out her name. Joshi depended on his Google Pixel 9 to share his location using Google Maps and keep in contact with other searchers. He worried that his phone's battery would drain from heavy use, forcing them to abandon the search for Luna.

But with Adaptive Battery¹ on Pixel, his phone was never in jeopardy. This built-in feature uses machine learning to prioritise the apps that you use most. This helps save battery by limiting apps running in the background when you’re not using them.

Joshi also knew how to monitor his battery usage, and if needed, he could turn on Extreme Battery Saver,¹ which pauses non-essential apps, extending his phone’s power for even longer. Joshi could even use other Pixel devices to charge his phone via Battery Share,¹ using Qi wireless charging if the search continued for many hours.

Fortunately, after five hours of searching, they were relieved to find Luna. But Joshi, a Pixel Superfan, had peace of mind knowing that his phone could keep up with the demand, thanks to its battery optimisation features.

“My Pixel phone was a trouper. It just kept going,” Joshi says. “I finally found Luna and was able to bring her back. I would not have been able to do it without my Pixel phone as my partner – and the amazing Pixel 9 battery life.”

Chetan Joshi is a member of Pixel Superfans, Google’s community for people who love Pixel products. Superfans gain access to private events, exclusive Q&As with product and engineering teams, limited-edition merchandise and other surprise perks. Interested in joining the community? Learn more about becoming a Superfan.

Your phone’s battery shouldn’t limit you in crucial moments, especially when you’re on the move, handling urgent tasks or far from a charger. That’s where battery optimisation features on your Pixel device have you covered.

Here’s how they help you get more out of every charge:

The Adaptive Charging optimisation feature can help preserve your battery’s lifespan. It learns your charging habits and slows down charging during long periods to reduce battery wear.

To turn on this feature, open your Settings app and tap Battery > Charging optimisation. Next, turn on “Use charging optimisation”.

Battery Saver is a handy feature that saves power by reducing background activities on your Pixel device.

With Standard Battery Saver mode enabled, your fully charged Pixel device will stay powered for more than 24 hours under most circumstances.¹ Lesser-used apps that don’t need to be running in the background are pushed out of the device’s memory when you have finished using them, while the apps you use more frequently are kept in the memory for faster access.

What’s more, Battery Saver and Adaptive Battery¹ work together to extend your phone’s battery power. It does this by learning your app usage and continuously optimising how apps use battery, helping your phone last longer between each charge. This, along with the Google Tensor chip, boosts power efficiency by enabling fast browsing and app opening, helping your phone battery last longer between charges.

You can set your phone to switch to Battery Saver mode automatically whenever you hit a certain level.

To activate the feature:
1. Open your Settings app
2. Tap Battery > Battery Saver
3. Select > Schedule and reminders, and make sure that “Turn on based on battery level” is on.
4. Slide the bar to your preferred percentage.
Next time your battery level falls to the set percentage, Battery Saver will turn on automatically.

Plus, you can easily adjust your preferred battery level for when Battery Saver kicks in, giving you more control over how your phone saves power.

“Everyone has a certain level of battery anxiety – for me, because I have kids, I need my phone to be working all the time,” says Kulick. “So, my battery level is set really high. I want to go into this Battery Saver mode pretty early on.”

Want to check if Battery Saver is on? Simply swipe down at the top of your screen and tap Battery Saver. Here, you can quickly enable or disable the feature.

Battery Saver mode helps save power by limiting apps and features. It’s best to activate this mode when you need it most, as it optimises battery life by restricting certain functions.

Here’s what to expect when it’s on:

• Dark theme turns on

• Low-priority notifications can be delayed

• Your phone doesn’t listen for “Hey Google”. Instead, tap Google Assistant to use this feature

• Apps don’t run in the background

• Your homescreen wallpaper dims
  

When you need your Pixel device to last even longer, Extreme Battery Saver goes further.¹ This feature turns off more functions to save even more power.

Joshi could have searched for Luna all day if he’d needed to – or up to 100 hours with Extreme Battery Saver enabled, a feature that takes even stricter measures to help squeeze every last drop out of a charge.¹

Extreme Battery Saver mode works by pausing power-hungry features and background activity, like notifications and app refreshes.

Tip: You can keep “essential” apps running, like Maps or Google Assistant, even on a near-empty battery. Go to Settings > Battery > Battery Saver > Extreme Battery Saver > Essential apps and select which apps to leave unpaused.

“There are a million things that are invisible in the background to users,” says Google Product Manager Matt Kulick. “We do a lot of protective things to make sure that the Pixel battery life is preserved.”

Extreme Battery Saver is designed to give you more time when battery life is running low, but it does so by scaling back. It further restricts apps and features, limiting more than the Standard Battery Saver mode.

Here’s what to expect when it’s switched on:

• Most apps are paused, and you won’t receive notifications

• Only essential apps stay active (you can choose which in Settings)

• Your phone’s processing slows

• Any hotspot or tethering stops

• Your phone’s screen timeout drops to 30 seconds

It’s best to turn on Extreme Battery Saver mode when you need to extend battery life in crucial moments, keeping you powered when it counts.

With Battery Share, your Pixel phone can wirelessly share power with other devices, like your Pixel Buds, smartwatch or even a friend’s phone. To turn on Battery Share, open Settings > tap Battery > Battery Share.

Find out more information on how to charge other devices with Pixel.

Battery-saving features on Pixel, like Adaptive Battery and Extreme Battery Saver, help extend your phone’s battery life. But there are ways you can help stretch your battery even more.

Some apps keep running in the background and can continue draining your battery. Clear apps you’re not using to help your battery last longer.

You can also use Adaptive Battery and battery optimisation, so the apps you use less often run less while you’re not using them.

Keeping your apps and software up to date offers more benefits than just new features, and battery power is one of them.

Kulick explains that new updates help improve app performance, fix bugs and errors that can drain power, and support the overall health of battery life.

Pixel 9 Pro and Pro XL

All pro. Pure magic.

Dimming the brightness of your phone screen can help save battery life. Switching to a dark theme can also help conserve battery, making it a simple way to reduce power.

Kulick recommends checking which apps and activities drain your battery most. Video calls and gaming are often at the top of the list.

You can view which apps use more battery in Settings. Tap > Battery > Battery usage. Then, tap “View by apps” to see battery usage by app.

“Keep what you’re doing in the foreground alive and shut down as much as possible in the background,” says Kulick. “We designed the battery so that you have peace of mind and don’t have to worry about finding an outlet.”

You can keep up to date with how much power your device has by showing its battery percentage in the status bar. Just go to Settings and tap > Battery > Battery percentage to activate it.

You can also see how much charge you have left and how long it will last in Settings.

Here’s how to handle a few common Battery Saver issues.

Battery Saver might not turn on if you are charging your device. Remove your phone from charging and try again.

You can also check in Settings that the feature is set to on and adjust the percentage you’d like it to kick in.

A newly downloaded app can use too much power. You can see how much battery each app is using in Settings. Tap > Battery > Battery usage > View by apps.

It’s normal for a Pixel battery to drain a little more than usual after a software update while it downloads and optimises the new software to get everything up and running.

Get more tips on fixing battery drain problems.

Battery Saver mode automatically switches off when charging, and turns off when your power reaches 90%.

If this feature remains running, it could be stuck due to a recent update. You can restart your phone to refresh settings. If the problem doesn’t resolve, check for software updates in Settings. 

Still having problems with your Pixel phone’s battery life? You can run a diagnostic test to check your battery. Simply open your Settings app and tap Battery > Battery diagnostics.

Whether you’re conserving battery on the go or getting the most out of every feature, your Pixel device keeps up, all thanks to powerful battery optimisation.

Get more tips and tricks on how to make your Pixel phone battery last longer.